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The Afterblight Chronicles #16-18
End of the End
When the world ended, we tried to rebuild.
For years after the Cull, we strove – we fought the slavers and exploiters, we stamped out the crazies, we broke the soil again and farmed like our ancestors. Could it ever be enough? History has broken, the old orders and certainties have lost their hold. Now it seems bad, cruel men will always rise, and chaos will always return.
Journal of the Plague Year brought you three tales from the first days of the Cull; now The End of the End revisits old friends, years after their adventures, as they still struggle to shout their defiance against the darkness.
Fall Out, by Simon Guerrier
Jack Bedford may be the rightful King of Britain, but he’s going to have to work for it. Uniting the various tribes and communities that have formed since the Cull will be an uphill battle. Now, Heysham power plant, in Lancashire, has suffered a catastrophic meltdown, the aging safety mechanisms failing after years of neglect, and an emergency council is called to deal with the implications.
Children of the Cull, by Cavan Scott
He fought his way from a secure block in London, across the ocean to New York and eventually to a bunker under Lake Erie, destroying a vast cult in his search for his lover. She ran and bargained her way from Lake Erie across to Cuba and back to Vegas, looking for him in turn. The trails are cold, and there are enemies to fight. Until, in a secret lab conducting terrible experiments, their lives are thrown together one last time.
Flaming Arrow , by Paul Kane
Rob Stokes – the Hooded Man – has seen off Britain’s would-be conquerors, thrown his support behind the newly-restored Crown, and extended his peacekeeping force onto the Continent. He’s getting old, feeling like retiring. But trouble is brewing in the newly peaceful Britain. King Jack’s soldiers go armed with guns and armoured vehicles, even as Stokes’ Rangers disarm the people. Shots are fired. A fire is about to start...
For years after the Cull, we strove – we fought the slavers and exploiters, we stamped out the crazies, we broke the soil again and farmed like our ancestors. Could it ever be enough? History has broken, the old orders and certainties have lost their hold. Now it seems bad, cruel men will always rise, and chaos will always return.
Journal of the Plague Year brought you three tales from the first days of the Cull; now The End of the End revisits old friends, years after their adventures, as they still struggle to shout their defiance against the darkness.
Fall Out, by Simon Guerrier
Jack Bedford may be the rightful King of Britain, but he’s going to have to work for it. Uniting the various tribes and communities that have formed since the Cull will be an uphill battle. Now, Heysham power plant, in Lancashire, has suffered a catastrophic meltdown, the aging safety mechanisms failing after years of neglect, and an emergency council is called to deal with the implications.
Children of the Cull, by Cavan Scott
He fought his way from a secure block in London, across the ocean to New York and eventually to a bunker under Lake Erie, destroying a vast cult in his search for his lover. She ran and bargained her way from Lake Erie across to Cuba and back to Vegas, looking for him in turn. The trails are cold, and there are enemies to fight. Until, in a secret lab conducting terrible experiments, their lives are thrown together one last time.
Flaming Arrow , by Paul Kane
Rob Stokes – the Hooded Man – has seen off Britain’s would-be conquerors, thrown his support behind the newly-restored Crown, and extended his peacekeeping force onto the Continent. He’s getting old, feeling like retiring. But trouble is brewing in the newly peaceful Britain. King Jack’s soldiers go armed with guns and armoured vehicles, even as Stokes’ Rangers disarm the people. Shots are fired. A fire is about to start...
368 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2016
4 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Simon Guerrier
168 books60 followersSimon Guerrier is a British science fiction author and dramatist, closely associated with the fictional universe of Doctor Who and its spinoffs. Although he has written three Doctor Who novels, for the BBC Books range, his work has mostly been for Big Finish Productions' audio drama and book ranges.
Guerrier's earliest published fiction appeared in Zodiac, the first of Big Finish's Short Trips range of Doctor Who short story anthologies. To date, his work has appeared in the majority of the Short Trips collections. He has also edited three volumes in the series, The History of Christmas, Time Signature and How The Doctor Changed My Life. The second of these takes as its starting-point Guerrier's short story An Overture Too Early in The Muses. The third anthology featured stories entirely by previously unpublished writers.
After contributing two stories to the anthology Life During Wartime in Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of books and audio dramas, Guerrier was invited to edit the subsequent year's short story collection, A Life Worth Living, and the novella collection Parallel Lives. After contributing two audio dramas to the series, Guerrier became the producer of the Bernice Summerfield range of plays and books, a post he held between January 2006 and June 2007.
His other Doctor Who work includes the audio dramas, The Settling and The Judgement of Isskar, in Big Finish's Doctor Who audio range, three Companion Chronicles and a contribution to the UNIT spinoff series. He has also written a play in Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel range.
Guerrier's work is characterised by character-driven humour and by an interest in unifying the continuity of the various Big Finish ranges through multiple references and reappearances of characters. As editor he has been a strong promoter of the work of various script writers from the Seventh Doctor era of the Doctor Who television series
Guerrier's earliest published fiction appeared in Zodiac, the first of Big Finish's Short Trips range of Doctor Who short story anthologies. To date, his work has appeared in the majority of the Short Trips collections. He has also edited three volumes in the series, The History of Christmas, Time Signature and How The Doctor Changed My Life. The second of these takes as its starting-point Guerrier's short story An Overture Too Early in The Muses. The third anthology featured stories entirely by previously unpublished writers.
After contributing two stories to the anthology Life During Wartime in Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of books and audio dramas, Guerrier was invited to edit the subsequent year's short story collection, A Life Worth Living, and the novella collection Parallel Lives. After contributing two audio dramas to the series, Guerrier became the producer of the Bernice Summerfield range of plays and books, a post he held between January 2006 and June 2007.
His other Doctor Who work includes the audio dramas, The Settling and The Judgement of Isskar, in Big Finish's Doctor Who audio range, three Companion Chronicles and a contribution to the UNIT spinoff series. He has also written a play in Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel range.
Guerrier's work is characterised by character-driven humour and by an interest in unifying the continuity of the various Big Finish ranges through multiple references and reappearances of characters. As editor he has been a strong promoter of the work of various script writers from the Seventh Doctor era of the Doctor Who television series
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 21, 2016
I was provided this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book, I've been so interested in reading apocalyptic stories and this one definitely fulfilled my thirst. I liked how this one was not about like zombies and stuff but a good twist on the end of the world and I also like how it had three short stories in one. The last one wasn't my favorite but the first two were the bomb. I recommend this book to anyone who is in the same boat as I am.
March 26, 2025
Three decent additions to the culled universe, although I felt that the third story about the hooded man was more an introduction to a new book rather than a standalone story.
October 17, 2016
A brutal & fast paced collection of short stories about an apocalyptic event. The settings, the characters, the lack of truly good people who end up surviving... it's damn near perfect.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews